Land Rover in snow

This may be so but not for the reasons that I think you're putting forward. Here are some thoughts that may help the general discussion.

Something to remember about differentials, axle or inter-axle (centre diff.) and assumed to be the normal 50/50 torque split device: The differential is a torque equalising device so that if one wheel cannot grip it is incapable of transmitting torque and hence the opposite wheel transmits no torque either. If there is no torque in the outputs, no torque can be maintained on the input.

This is the explanation for your statement "that the wheel on the same axle as the spinning one also loses drive" - a 2WD setup will demonstrate this admirably, just lift a wheel. The fact that you can then build two of these axles into a system with a common drive (a 4WD setup) doesn't change how each individual axle behaves.

From here it is easy to see how a 4WD setup with locked centre diff. requires one wheel on each axle to spin to remove all the tractive force.

The argument for what happens with a 4WD setup with unlocked centre diff. is a little more complicated. One wheel spins and cannot transmit torque. There is then no torque on the diff. input of the axle with the spinning wheel. As that input is the output of the centre diff. there is no torque on one output of the centre diff.. Hence no output to the other side of the centre diff.. Hence no drive to the other axle.

Not true. One of those three wheels is not driving. It is just rotating.

True - as the model is stationary there is no rotation on the centre diff. outputs to either axle. There is therefore no rotation on the input to the axle with the free wheel and therefore nothing on that axle rotates.

Yes, but neither wheel on the axle with the wheel in the air is driving(transmitting torque). You could raise the other wheel on that axle and both wheels will continue to rotate at the same speed as long as the other axle has two rotating driving wheels and the centre diff. is locked. The speed of rotation of the wheel(s) off the ground is determined by the propshaft speed which with a locked centre diff. is the same as that for the axle with both driving wheels on the ground.

In message , Lee_D writes

Re snow chains - be careful where you use them according to age of Defender and tyres - there was a brief thread on here recently. I have put in a request to LRO to get clarification on the position.

Not sure if any of these could be made to fit, but they're not chains, they're nets, with studs on;

I'm not sure if other sizes are available.

Military spec kit and surplus at that,and they are used on 110s of the same age.

The 110 is 1990 (not a defender) and runs drums on the rear.

Cheers Hugh

Lee

On or around Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:20:23 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Liquorice" enlightened us thusly:

I wa shaving fun in the disco til I got it stuck in a drift, took an hour's shovelling and a tug with a quad bike to get it out again!

cutting a fine dash too I'll wager

Oh the ignomy, a quad!!!!

Providing he wasn't chaving fun.

Took me about 45mins to dig out when I got stuck. Seems that when a landie gets stuck they really get stuck. B-)

I firmly believe that the more capable they are at not getting stuck, the worse it is when they do.

Mike

Nah, my pinz has always been fairly easy to shift once it's got stuck, after all with 6 wheels and diff locks all round you only need one wheel to get good grip and it can start helping itself again. When I got it stuck in snow up to its chassis it took me 5 mins to get it moving again! Just as well, as nothing else could get to where it was which is the main danger :-(

All in all though, not harder to get it moving again than my Defender, and you can get away with doing less much of the time. I got it stuck in some muddy ruts once, just got the spade out and collapsed the side of one rut, got a front wheel up onto the side of the rut and it climbed out. The Suzuki with massive wheels behind it was harder to shift, had to give it a tow out sideways.

I wouldn't fancy trying to get a stuck Tatra 813 moving again though..

On or around Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:50:04 -0000, "GbH" enlightened us thusly:

to be fair, the 4x4 quad, even with shagged tyres, was going places in the snow that nothing else would get to. And it's light enough to lift out if it does get stuck.

People Hi,

if you want to see a few fellow members of the Land Rover Club of Greece playing in the snow in our side of the world check this:

it is in Greek but you can see the photos (pages 3 and 4)and the youtube (pages 6 and on) posted videos.

Unfortunately I was not able to attend since the alternator mounting bracket on my Disco broke a day before the excursion.

Hope you like it

Take care everybody (and yes it DOES SNOW even in Greece) Pantelis

"Austin Shackles" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...